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Law. Co. Relay for Life raises over $10,000 to fight cancer

Published by education on Thu, 06/13/2019 - 6:00am

By:

Steve Chapman

Great weather, family fun welcome hundreds to the Mt. Vernon square for countywide annual fundraiser
The 2019 Lawrence County Relay for Life took place on the Mt. Vernon town square the evening of Saturday, June 8. An estimated 200 people attended the event.
The evening featured bounce houses and a water gun area for children, karaoke, silent and live auctions, games, a luminaria lighting ceremony, and a 30-minute performance by Nashville recording artist and Mt. Vernon native, Liz Moriondo.
During the evening, several people walked laps around the town square to help raise money for the American Cancer Society. Organizer Patti McBride said the first lap was made by cancer survivors, the second by people who act as caregivers to those with cancer, and then everyone joined in for the third lap.
Among those walking that evening was April Standefer, who said she was there to raise awareness not only about cancer survivors, but also “people we’ve lost.”
“I had a very good friend that died from cancer when she was 23,” she said.
Shanda Yardley was at Relay for Life to honor family members she’d lost to cancer.
“It’s important to me because there’s a lot of my family members who have passed because they had cancer, so it’s something that really thrives in me because I want to hopefully be able to help the American Cancer Society and find a cure,” she said.
For Moriondo, supporting Relay for Life was important because she lost her grandmother, Kathryn Dahlman, to brain cancer two years ago. Moriondo credited her grandmother with helping her to learn how to sing and added that Dahlman survived breast cancer, only to succumb to brain cancer later.
“I’m no stranger to what cancer does to people and family,” Moriondo said.
During Relay for Life, there were several fundraisers. People could buy luminarias to honor friends and family members who died of cancer, bid on items in the auctions and purchase food from vendors. Teams and individuals who walked around the square also raised money each time they completed a lap. McBride said, altogether, $10,305.00 was raised, with all of the money going to the American Cancer Society.
“We … are still accepting donations for the next month or so,” she added.
Those who are interested in making a donation should contact Patti McBride by e-mail at pjmcbrideslf@aol.com or call (417) 466-4444.